Weakened Typhoon Haiyan sweeps over Vietnam and into China

Zoe Daniel reports from a village in the typhoon-devastated Philippines city of Tacloban.

ABC News

Typhoon Haiyan has swept over Vietnam, uprooting trees and tearing roofs off hundreds of homes, but sparing the country the widespread devastation wrought on the Philippines.

The storm, which is feared to have killed more than 10,000 people in the Philippines, has weakened significantly but still packed heavy rain and winds of 120 kilometres per hour as it slammed into northern Vietnam.

Government officials say the storm has left 13 people dead and 81 injured in Vietnam.

The capital, Hanoi, was largely unscathed, but coastal towns and cities popular with tourists are among the worst-hit.

Nguyen Cong Thuan, a disaster official in Quang Ninh province, said hundreds of houses have been damaged in the country's north.

"Several hundred houses had their roofs ripped off. Thousands of trees in the province were uprooted," he said.

"We're obviously still doing the assessment because communication has not been ideal ... but the initial reports I've seen and heard from local media is that the storm surge was not as bad as had been feared," she told PM.

"We are receiving reports of damaged buildings, roofs blown off, fallen trees; the usual kind of damage that we see in a tropical storm. So many individuals are very seriously affected."

Ms Mackay says the country was extremely well-prepared for Haiyan's landing.

'Full blown humanitarian crisis' in Philippines

Meanwhile, a huge international relief operation is underway in the Philippines in the wake of the catastrophic super typhoon.

James Reynolds, a storm chaser and television producer, says the storm came ashore with "terrifying ferocity".

"I was in the city of Tacloban, which was ground zero," he told PM

"I've been through many typhoons and cyclones and I was preparing for this one to be bad. But it's hard to envisage whole city blocks up in flames as uncontrollable fires raged, corpses in the street, tsunami-like damage."

"It's going to take some time before we can get the full operation going in terms of being able to provide clean drinking water and to provide food and shelter," he said.

"We've got a huge amount of debris, and also [the] bodies on the road. It's making it very difficult."

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop has pledged a $10 million aid package, with $4 million for the United Nations, $3 million for Australian non-governmental organisations and $1 million for the Red Cross.

At least six dead as Haiyan moves across Chinese coast

Another six people died after Haiyan crossed China's south coast, state-run media say.

Three pedestrians were hit by falling walls or advertising hoardings in the southern island province of Hainan, a local newspaper said.

One drowned in the neighbouring Guangxi Zhuang region, according to China's Xinhua news agency.

Two sailors were found dead after their cargo ship was cast adrift in the storm, Xinhua added, citing maritime rescue authorities in Hainan, and rescuers were still searching for another five crew members lost at sea.

Nearly 600 houses were damaged and 51 collapsed in the downpours and strong winds brought by the typhoon, the civil affairs ministry said in a statement, and 39,000 people were evacuated in Hainan.